Each year a new device enters, and takes over, the workplace. First mobile phones, then tablets, and now wearable devices. All have become common workplace tools, helping employees better engage and connect, and work more efficiently. Yet these devices don't work in a vacuum. Enterprises face the challenge of keeping pace with consumer tech trends, as well as recruiting developers who can set that pace. Organizations have two options: find the right developer talent, or crowdsource development to augment the work of internal teams.
Tech taking over
Every business is now a tech company, always having to move forward with the latest and greatest app experience for its employees and customers. But with the demand for enterprise applications growing, the supply of developers is shrinking. According to Statista, out of the 100 billion apps that have been downloaded from the Apple App Store since July 2008, more than 10 percent are business-related. Although business is the second most popular category in the app store, it still represents a small portion of the total number of mobile apps available. Without skilled developers, enterprises can't meet the demand. So where are all the prized developers, and what can organizations do to bridge the talent gap?
Top talent is pickier than ever, and rightfully so. Changing work structures and environments are making recruitment and retention of top IT talent harder than ever before. Employees today want and seek out the flexibility offered by being connected at any time, anywhere. They are no longer lured by money alone; they demand a much more robust set of both tangible and intangible benefits.
Shopping for opportunities
A new survey conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Appirio examined the way that technology workers evaluate new job opportunities. It found that 63 percent of IT job seekers consider flexible work hours to be highly important. The survey also showed that a well-resourced IT department and up-to-date technology are key criteria prospective employees consider when evaluating job opportunities. Traditional tactics enterprises once relied on to secure top talent—like inflating salaries—aren't enough anymore.
Even the C-suite can no longer deny that the future of work has arrived. Eighty-four percent of top executives see the economy shifting toward project-based work as opposed to traditional, full-time employment. In response, many companies are turning to crowdsourcing to solve the talent gap. A relatively new model for accessing on-demand technology expertise through the Internet, crowdsourcing relies on members' desire to collaborate and learn new skills, rather than choose a traditional career path.
As a concept, crowdsourcing has been around for centuries. Today, Wikipedia is one of the best known examples of the power a crowd has to innovate. By creating new content and updating old entries, Wikipedia contributors from all over the world ensure that one of the most visited sites globally remains accurate at all times. Similarly, organizations are finding that crowdsourcing development to solve tough business problems is one of the most efficient ways to innovate at scale.
Think bigger
The idea is to create the perfect virtual environment for the world's brightest minds to gather and compete to solve the real-world business problems enterprises face. Members of crowdsourcing development teams learn, improve upon their skills, and receive cash prizes for winning work. Companies benefit from an on-demand, elastic pool of talent that includes some of best minds in the world. A competition-based crowdsourcing development model ensures that businesses receive the best solutions possible—and pay only for results, not time spent.
Thanks to the power of crowds, your business can augment its existing IT department with a limitless support team of the best developers around the globe, unleashing the power of innovation at an unheard of pace and scale.
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